Broken
by Scarlet Warhawk
Summary: Asylum/Disaster AU: In the wake of a freak superstorm, cities across the continent have been left in ruins. Criminal syndicates are free to act with impunity and one twisted man sets into motion a terrible scheme. Enter Heart Mental Hospital. An island of hope amidst a sea of uncertainty. But dark forces gather in the shadows, threatening to shatter their already-fragile peace.


**Title:** ** _'Broken'_**

 **Description: _Asylum/Disaster AU:_ _In the wake of a freak superstorm, cities across the continent have been left in ruins. Amidst the rubble, criminal syndicates are free to act with impunity and one twisted man sets into motion a terrible scheme. Bodies are broken, hearts are stolen, and minds are left in shambles. Enter_ _Heart Mental Hospital for the extremely troubled. An island of hope amidst a sea of uncertainty. But dark forces gather in the shadows, threatening to shatter their already-fragile peace irreparably._**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts**

* * *

 **"It's always the broken souls that are trying to fix others." –Unknown**

 **Chapter 1**

 _"-death toll is catastro-"_

 _'Click!'_

 _"-tion. Doctor White, do you think that there could be any potential recurrences of the Darkside phenome-"_

 _'Click!'_

 _"-pent, sinners! Can you not see-"_

 _'Click!'_

 _"-criticizing the regional government for not doing more to intervene in the wake of Hurricane Dark-"_

 _'Click!'_

 _"Criminal activity in what is quickly being dubbed the 'dark realm' is reported to be reaching all-time highs. Investigator Marie Schiefer has mo-"_

 _'Click-pewww...'_

Naminé sighed gloomily, setting the television remote down on the coffee table. Wistfully, she thought back to the time before Darkside–when news programs spent most of their time dithering on about gossip or inconsequential happenings in some far-flung part of the world. But–like so many other things from Before–that changed with shocking suddenness and violence with the arrival of the superstorm. The small pale-skinned girl rose from the couch, brushing a few strands of pale blond hair away from her soft blue eyes as she drifted over to the window. The clouds hung low as they did so often, a heavy curtain the colour of lifeless stone that threatened to split and unleash sheets of pouring rain upon the world. The sky weeped freely these days, she thought sadly, gaze falling to the grounds. She couldn't see much from her tall, narrow window, but she did have a line of sight from her room all the way to the walls on the edge of the grounds. They were something close to fifty feet tall, over a foot thick, and made of reinforced concrete–which stood in stark contrast to the rest of the hospital–but instead of making her feel trapped, they made Naminé feel safe. The hospital was a tiny dot of white surrounded by a sea of endless black, and that grey wall was the barrier between them, a line drawn in the sand. The light needed to dabble in shades of grey, or else there would be nothing to stand between it and the darkness.

It occurred to her that she was starting to sound like Riku, and she was overcome by a raging fit of giggles at the thought. The melancholy mood she had worked herself into melted away, the weight evaporating from her shoulders as she laughed. Eventually, she got a hold of herself and moved across her room to a cluttered desk, still smiling to herself. That smile became burdened with a hint of sorrow as she shifted aside piles of half-finished sketches and folders that spilled crisp, clinical documents over the small space, picking up an overfilled clipboard. The topmost page was a carefully-drawn weekly plan, with large, flexible blocks of time marked with countless notations and each labeled with names and tasks. Sighing again, Naminé picked up the clipboard and made her way out of the room.

After a few minutes of walking through the tastefully-decorated halls of the mansion, the girl passed through a sliding door and into the room that everyone referred to as the 'staff lounge'.

(Well, everyone except for DiZ, but he called it either the 'general workflow regulation space' or 'retrofitted secondary parlor', so nobody really payed him much mind.)

Upon entering, Naminé caught sight of some of her coworkers. The first one she saw was the ever-mischievous Yuffie in her green turtleneck and loud yellow scarf, perched precariously on the back of a chair, daring anyone to come over and tell her to sit down properly. Leon was leaned against a wall nearby, clad in black leathers and sporting a pensive expression on his scarred face. Today, however, his brooding pose gave the distinct impression that he was trying to stave off a headache. (Probably due to prolonged Yuffie exposure.) Cid was typing away at his enormous computer, muttering or cursing under his breath at odd intervals. Scanning the room, she tried to locate the person she was looking for until a door slid open and the very same individual stepped through the frame gracefully. It was a woman, tall and with pointed features. Deep brown hair was curled up into two arches in the front and carefully braided in the back, tied off with a pink ribbon. She wore a short red jacket over a simple pink dress, and she moved with a sense of elegance more befitting of a queen than of a florist-turned-schoolteacher. Naminé hurried over to her, clutching her clipboard to her chest.

"Miss Gainsborough-" she began, but the woman cut her off with a finger.

"Naminé," she gently chided. "How many times have I told you; call me Aerith." She frowned faintly. "All this formality sucks away what precious little joy we have left." Naminé flushed bright red.

"S-sorry, Miss- er, Aerith." She was rewarded with a beaming smile.

"See? Now wasn't that... _YUFFIE_!" Aerith had spotted the troublemaker and her dangerous seating position, and her expression hardened. " _What on EARTH do you think you're doing?!"_ Yuffie paled.

"Aw, shoot," she said, flailing forwards to try and make a break for it, but jerking to a halt with a shrill exclamation of pain as Aerith crossed the distance between them in three long strides and seized the self-proclaimed ninja by the ear. Yuffie began to whine and protest loudly. "OW! Owowowowowowow! Get offa' me, Aerith!"

"I should think not!" the former flower girl exclaimed severely. "How you manage to get yourself into so much trouble is beyond me!" Off to the side, Leon turned away to hide the satisfied smirk forming on his face. Unfortunately for the brunette gunslinger this action did not go unnoticed.

"And you!" Aerith exclaimed, rounding on Leon with a frown on her face. The man's smile instantly died away as he turned back to face the woman, his usual pensive mask hiding his growing unease.

"Yes?" he asked coolly. Aerith was unfazed by his cool brooding demeanor; she tightened her grip on Yuffie's ear as the childish kleptomaniac tried to make a break for it and brandished her index finger at the taller man with the corners of her mouth curving downwards.

"You should have stepped in as soon as she started such dangerous behaviour! She could have seriously hurt herself!"

Leon 'hmph'd stoically.

"It would do her better to learn from her own mistakes. A few bumps or bruises would be a good reminder of that lesson."

Unfortunately for the leather-sporting man, Aerith was having none of that. She jabbed her finger into his chest, eyes flashing with what Naminé privately referred to as 'Aerith-anger'. (That was to say not 'anger'–she'd heard stories from Yuffie about _that_ –but rather a mix of outrage and disappointment that made you feel like a misbehaving child.)

Before the flower girl could launch into a full-blown reprimand, Namine cautiously stepped forwards.

"M-miss Gain- I m-mean, Aerith?" she hesitantly stammered, peeking out over her clipboard. Instantly, Aerith's temper evaporated as she turned around and smiled brightly at the blonde girl.

"Yes, dear?" she inquired sweetly. Another pinch sent a would-be ninja into a fit of pained exclamations and deterring the escape she'd been attempting.

"I w-was wondering if you knew w-where Miss P-Pelekai is right now?"

"Lilo?" Aerith paused thoughtfully for a moment before nodding. "Yes, she should be in her room around now, probably playing with Stitch." Naminé quickly thanked her and hurried out of the lounge. Her sandaled feet carried her up a flight of stairs and down a hallway, where she paused in front of a closed door. From inside the room Naminé could hear faint strains of serene music, the giggling of a child, and faint snarls and incoherent babbling from a strange voice. Knocking, the blonde girl called out softly.

"Hello? Miss Pelekai?" The voices died down quickly and the music cut off with a 'click.' After a few seconds, the was door cracked open by a small, girl who had the traditional appearance of an islander and was wearing a red, flower print dress. She had to raise her hands up over her head in order to reach the doorknob, and then lean sideways to peer through the opening curiously. As she saw Naminé, her charcoal-black eyes lit up and she let go of the knob, nudging the door sideways to poke her head out into the hall, a big smile lighting up her deeply-tanned face.

"Nami!" Lilo practically shot out of her room and collided with Naminé, wrapping a tight hug around her waist due to the height difference. The older girl giggled and knelt down to return the embrace. After a few seconds the younger girl stepped back, long black hair swaying back and forth as she hopped on her heels excitedly. "I haven't seen you in, like, forever!" Naminé was about to respond when two more small figures followed her through the door.

"Naminé...is hee-ur?" a small voice asked timidly, speech slow and halting. It was a gangly boy who was a head taller than Lilo, but stood hunched as if he was trying to curl into the ground. He had a head of dark brown hair that hung down to his jaw, and he wore only a pair of red shorts, displaying his thin, wiry frame and skin the colour of cocoa beans. The second face was not human. It looked... vaguely like a dog, only with blueish fur, large black eyes, no snout, and what looked like the body shape of a child. The creature cocked its head to the side curiously.

"Namenima?" it asked in a garbled, nasally voice. Naminé nodded, and the creature scampered over to her, sitting up and flashing her a wide, sharp-toothed grin. "Namenima!" it cheered excitedly, prompting the girl to bend over with a smile and pet its head, much to its delight as it began purring like a cat. The boy wasn't far behind, moving out of the room in hunched, limping strides.

"Hello, Stitch. Hello, Mowgli," the pale-skinned girl greeted.

As the children–and Stitch–clustered around her eagerly, Naminé was barraged with questions, mostly from Lilo, but with the other two chiming in.

"Where have you been?"

"Washa mibi ortika! Kanabaki! Ashi salaam Ah-koo-wah? Terra? Ven?"

"Are you doing... happy?"

"Do I look taller since you last saw me?"

"Ohufi, morchiba! Jaba ramid rye hassin!"

"You... come see... what for?"

"Did ya' get a boyfriend?"

The last one–from Lilo–elicited a gasp from the girl and Stitch. Mowgli blinked in confusion before the blue koala-looking creature whispered something in his ear and he joined in.

"Didja?/Is true?/Gaba? Gatchi nosty?"

Making the gesture for 'slow down' with her hands, Naminé successfully stemmed the flow of questions. "I've been busy," she began, answering their queries one at a time. "Terra and Ventus are both alright, and I'm sure Aqua will be, too. I'm doing fine, yes, Lilo, you must have grown at least an inch..." Lilo cackled, doing a silly little victory dance and blowing a raspberry at Stitch, who rolled his eyes and garbled something. "...Yes, it has been a while, I came to check on Lilo, and..." the pale girl flushed. "No, I don't have a boyfriend." There was a collective exhale of relief from the three before Naminé turned to the lanky boy and blue creature. "Mowgli, Stitch, I need to talk to Lilo for a bit. Do you think you could leave us alone?" Mowgli nodded, turning to Stitch and giving a strange, wavering bark. Stitch looked agitated, speaking rapidly to the shirtless boy in the strange patterns that she realized was some kind of actual language. Mowgli blinked and then shrugged, limping down the hall.

"Bah-yee, new... gerl, Stitch," he called as he turned a corner.

Naminé watched his retreating back, then turned her attention back to Stitch, who was standing with his arms crossed.

"Stitch," she repeated. "Can I please talk to Lilo alone?"

The strange creature narrowed his eyes and scowled. "Naga."

Taking that as a negative, Naminé furrowed her brow. "Why not?"

"Jaba ramid nye hassin trang nang, hak tienet matyr." Stitch stated stubbornly, using words that Naminé wasn't familiar with. "Trang nang kweesta. Kanja Ooga. Meegan Lilo shol asahiah. Naga meega Lilo-o-itume! Lilo... ohana." The last word, Naminé was certain she had heard before somewhere.

"Lilo," she asked the islander girl. "What does 'ohana' mean?" The little girl was staring at the ground dejectedly, seeming to have wilted from whatever it was Stitch had said.

"'Ohana' means family," she answered, swallowing hard as her lip trembled. "An'... An' family m-means-" before she could finish, she broke into uncontrollable, hiccuping sobs, eyes screwed shut tight. The next instant, Stitch had his arms wrapped around her and was leading her back into the room. He shot a look back at a distressed Naminé and said something in his strange language before jerking his head towards the room. His meaning was clear; he wanted her to help him comfort the girl.

* * *

"Back before th' Darkside we lived on an island, inna big house with my big sis an' all of Stitch's cousins."

Lilo was sitting on her bed as she told her story, her blanket wrapped around her for protection. Stitch was nearby, sitting by the windowsill and staring up at the overcast sky, like if he looked hard enough, he could see the same stars shining against the inky black; or anything else to tell him that they were still in the same world as the home they had lost. Naminé was in a chair facing the bed, asking questions and offering comfort when she could.

"Stitch's... cousins?"

Lilo giggled weakly. "Well, that's what we all called 'em." The girl went on to tell the therapist about how she and her sister had found Stitch, about his origins as a science experiment in a big-name laboratory on her island, and what they had gone through as the corporation attempted to get back their escaped asset. They had thwarted everything from burglars to international assassins before finally taking matters to court, where after a long and arduous process, had managed to have full rights and citizenship granted to dozens of other experiments; Stitch's 'cousins'. They had gotten jobs, helped rebuild the sisters' destroyed house, and had just begun to settle into their new life when the unthinkable struck.

Hurricane Darkside. A massive 'superstorm' that had come out of nowhere and marched clear across the continent, leaving a trail of death, rubble, and tragedy in its wake Naminé bitterly recalled countless stories of her patients, each of which consisted of happy times brought to an abrupt end and replaced with misery and suffering.

Lilo's former home of Kauai–one of a archipelago known as the Hawaiian Islands–was no stranger to harsh weather, having their fair share of earthquakes, tsunamis, and even hurricanes. They were as prepared as they could be.

It wasn't enough by half. Tearfully, Lilo recounted the tale of bearing witness to the destruction of her whole way of life on her way home from school, watching whole houses ripped away from the ground as the wind swung palm trees like baseball bats against anything and everything. She'd been knocked unconscious by a stray piece of debris, surviving thanks to Stitch, who had carried her to the old, decommissioned lab due to the sturdy nature of the building. When she'd awoken, she and Stitch had stumbled outside to gaze on a wasteland of rubble. Debris was strewn everywhere and practically a third of the island had been swallowed up by the hungry sea. They ran home in terror, only to find a mountain of fallen trees and bricks a mile wide.

Barely a day later, they'd been picked up by a scraped-together coast guard patrol with orders to bring back any survivors they found. The two had been physically restrained, kicking and screaming as they begged the people to let them search for their family. Stitch had seized the sidearm of one before one of his partners shot the furry blue test subject and apparently killed him. After that, Lilo had shut down, going limp and unresponsive and was carried to a boat. Thanks to his unique biology, Stitch recovered from the wound within hours and stowed away on the ship until they reached the mainland.

They had barely disembarked when the crew was attacked. With communications out on the island disabled, the coast guards had been unaware of the second disaster that had swept across the heart of the continent shortly after Darkside. Each of the crew member was swarmed by _things_ that had once been human but no longer were. The people with skin mottled inky black from bruise-like patterns all over their bodies. Creatures that lurked in the darkness, with luminous yellow eyes that could pierce even the darkest night. Monsters who hunted anything that moved and clung to the shade like living shadows.

The Heartless.

Stitch had protected them from the initial attack, driving away the Shadows with a ferocity that they had not anticipated. But they had numbers and time on their side, and the two would surely have perished had it not been for the timely appearance of Sora. The teenaged youth had beat back the Heartless and escorted the two refugees to the hospital. That had been over a month ago. Since arriving at the refuge, Stitch had become loathe to allow Lilo from his sight, and Lilo in turn had times where she became quiet and withdrawn.

"We left them all behind..." the little girl whispered tightly. "Nani... Sparky... Angel... Belle... Everybody...

Having concluded her story, Lilo fell silent and stared intently at the floor. Naminé gave her the space, fighting back a strange irregularity in her own breathing.

"Ohana," Lilo suddenly said, wiping her nose on her arm and sniffling. "'Ohana' means 'family'." Another sniffle. "An' family means..." She swallowed hard. "..no one gets left behind." The girl gave a tiny, miserable whimper and Naminé wondered if that was the sound of a heart breaking. Moving forwards, she wrapped her arms around the small girl, murmuring comforts as a pair of little arms latched onto her tightly in return. At some point, Stitch joined them, and the three sat there for a long while until Naminé wasn't quite sure who was comforting whom.

"It's okay," she whispered. "You're safe now. You don't have to be scared anymore."

* * *

Almost twenty minutes later, Naminé emerged from the room, tired and emotionally drained from the exchange. Descending the stairs, she heard voices speaking in urgent tones up ahead. In them, she could hear excitement and relief. Curious, the girl reached the bottom step and passed into the lounge, seeing numerous people hurrying out the door as quickly as they could. Cid was tapping away at his keyboard at insane speeds, eyes locked on the monitor in front of him. Leon, Yuffie and Aerith stood behind him, watching anxiously.

"Naminé?" The white-dressed girl spun around as she heard her name called, coming face-to-face with one of her closest friends.

Red hair framing her round, pretty face in away that drew attention to her bright blue eyes, skin lightly tanned by the tropical sun of her home, and posture strong and confidant, Kairi was as stunning as ever as Naminé caught sight of her. Especially with the way that her eyes were sparkling with barely-contained excitement, which showed as she was practically bouncing in place

"Kairi? What is it? Where is everyone going?"

"You didn't hear?!" Kairi asked her energetically. "They're back!" And just like that, the two girls were off racing through the mansion, weaving in between others headed the same way: towards the front entrance. Squeezing their way through the crowd of kids and adults, staff and patients that had gathered around the large, heavy oaken doors, the duo began to wait anxiously.

They did not have to wait long. Barely half a minute had passed before the doors began to creak slowly open. All eyes watched as the newly-arrived individuals were revealed.

It was a pair of boys. One–who couldn't have been more than eighteen at the very most–with spiky dark brown hair that stuck out in odd directions, despite being matted with dirt and discolored from dust. He wore a black short-sleeved hoodie jacket, black-and-red cargo pants, and a blue-and-red t-shirt, along with almost comically-oversized yellow shoes. Each part of his clothes bore some kind of rip or tear, often staining the black cloth a brownish-red around the edges. Visible over his shoulder was the handle of a sword shaped strangely like a key. There was a silver pendant shaped like a crown dangling from his neck and a smile plastered on his face. Kairi's eyes lit up as she saw him, and he in turn gave her the goofiest grin that Naminé had ever seen, practically lighting up the mansion with its happiness. Sora tended to do that; his positivity was infectious.

The blonde girl's gaze, however, looked past the first boy to his companion and she at once felt her throat tighten and her gut freeze. The second boy's arm was draped over Sora's shoulders and he was leaning heavily on his shorter friend just to stay on his feet. He was clad in a long black coat with silver adornments–a piece of clothing that dredged up frightening memories for Naminé–which had the hood pulled up to obscure most of his appearance. The coat was ripped ragged, dark stains glistening in large patches that made the girl's stomach turn, and a bandage could be seen through one of the larger holes, which was soaked in blood both dried and fresh. A steady 'drip... drip... drip...' of crimson droplets forming small stains on the porch drew a sharp contrast to the harsh, irregular breaths that came from beneath the raised hood, through the shadow of which Naminé could catch a faint glimpse of long, ragged silver bangs, and behind them, a strip of black cloth tied tightly over the eyes.

"Hey, guys..." Sora cheerfully greeted the crowd, but everyone caught the exhausted strain in his voice and noticed–for the first time–the haggard look about his features, the shaky tremble in his limbs, and the weary look in his eyes. "Long time... no... see..." And then his eyes rolled up into his head and the two collapsed to the floor as a cry of alarm went up through the assembled occupants of the crowd.

* * *

 **Hello, everyone. This is a story that has been tickling my imagination ever since I took a trip to Kauai. I honestly intended to make this chapter _much_ more lighthearted, but it came out kind of dark. I also intended this to be somewhere closer to one thousand words, but creativity is a fickle mistress. Anyways, in case you couldn't tell, this story takes place in an alternate universe where all the 'worlds' are a single continent that has just been hit by a massive hurricane. **

**Anyways, don't worry, because next chapter has so many focusses to choose from. Please, tell me who you'd like to see particularly more of by leaving a review, and I'll make it happen.**

 **1\. Wayfinder Trio**

 **2\. Naminé, Riku, and DiZ**

 **3\. Sora and Kairi**

 **4\. More of the 'kid' characters. (Mowgli, Lilo & Stitch, Pinocchio, etcetera...)**

 **5\. Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, the Lost Boys, and the Darlings**

 **8\. Sea Salt Trio**

 **9\. Someone else?**


End file.
